Week 2 in a Foreign State of Mind

Bonjour again from the city of lights!! It is day 12 of my visit, and it is hard to believe I have almost completed half of my time here in the beautiful city of Paris! I feel as though everything is going by so quickly, yet each day is long and filled with many adventures and wonderful memories. I have been so stunned at the amount of love and kindness shared among the Baylor in Paris group, specifically among the girls, and I know these are friendships I will be so excited to continue when we return to Baylor.
Now onto the past week's events :)

Last Monday was the first full day I was able to share with Erin and our friend Holly in the city. After class we decided to visit the beautiful church from the 19th century called the Sacré-Coeur in the district of Montmartre. It is a massive monument dedicated to the saints and apostles of Christ, but also boasts a large depiction of Christ surrounded by the saints and apostles on its ceiling. The large dome is viewable from all across the city, and the climb to the top allows for one of the most amazing views of the city. I particularly liked being able to sit in its large and quiet space and reflect while looking at and taking in how beautifully it is designed on the inside. Unfortunately they don't allow pictures on the inside, but Erin, Holly and I were able to take some great ones from the outside :)

On Tuesday Erin, Holly and I decided to take a break from the typical tourist spots and visit a quieter quartier of the city called Marais where the apartment of Victor Hugo is located. This was especially interesting and exciting for me and Erin as we are going to see the musical of Les Miserables in London this coming weekend! We also took a little break and ate some delicious ice cream and did a little shopping among the many boutiques in the quartier.


Wednesday and Thursday were filled with a large amount of French history as the entire Baylor in Paris group visited four of the large Chateaux in the Loire Valley. We drove by bus about two hours south of Paris to visit the Chateaux of Cheverny, Chambord, Blois, and Chenonceau. Each one was immersed in hundreds of years of history of the monarchy of France, and it was interesting to hear how each was used during the reign of the monarchs in the 16th to the 19th centuries. Honestly, it was almost too much information for me to completely absorb, but I appreciated the elaborate architecture and the grandeur that each enormous castle contained, and I think that itself is enough for me :)


After class on Friday, a group of the girls and I decided to visit the underground Catacombes. I was not too thrilled to be descending far beneath the streets of Paris to see a lot of old human bones of past Parisians, however I knew it would be an experience worth having. There are no words to explain the sight of over 6 million past Parisian's bones all stacked neatly in organized piles throughout the underground tunnels, but it was definitely a humbling and slightly creepy experience.


Friday night needed some livening up after our experience at the Catacombes, so the same group of girls and I decided to share a small picnic underneath the Eiffel Tower so we could watch it sparkle with it's light show at around 11pm. I am so thankful that I am able to share memories with such sweet girls, and I think that night will be one of my favorite memories of Paris.


On Saturday Erin, Holly and I met up with our friends Laura and Melissa and walked the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Although it was my second time to visit that area and monument, I am glad I decided to visit it again because it definitely led to many laughs and another beautiful daytime view of the city. That night the group of girls and I scheduled a bike tour of the city with the Fat Tire Bike Tour company. I absolutely loved relaxing and getting a little exercise while touring the city and seeding some of the most beautiful and historical monuments, all within four hours. I would recommend this company and this tour to anyone visiting Paris in the future, and Erin and I might schedule a tour with them while we are in London.


Sunday was a more relaxed day as Erin, Holly and I decided to head the the Opera Bastille to get an excellent discount on student priced tickets for the opera Barber of Seville. We arrived at the opera about an hour and a half before it began and received tickets on the eighth row from the stage in the middle of the auditorium. I'm not usually the bragging type, but these seats were absolutely incredible all for the low price of 30€, which is extremely low considering that our seats would have normally run for around 180€. I loved the opera and the experience, and I know Erin and I fully appreciated being able to see what we are studying at Baylor come to life before us.


This week has already been a full and tiring one with more classes at the school at Parsons to help us learn the French language to the best of our ability, and visits around the city and to Versailles. This week is a short week in terms of classes and Erin and I will head to London on Thursday for a long weekend of more sight-seeing and taking in a bit of British culture.

Until I write again here are some of my favorite pictures of this week's events :)
Tout mon amour,
Emily